(Communist Manifesto, 1848)
In the last few classes, we've discussed Marx's opinion that history forms into epochs defined by class struggle, and that our capitalist phase could quite possible convert to a communist phase in the near future, given that class struggle is particularly violent under capitalism. We know that under capitalism, conditions of workers become more and more wretched as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, until the proletariat experience class consciousness and rebel against the bourgeoisie.
How likely is it, then, that America will experience such a revolution of the proletariat?
We've seen in the past various small-scale rebellions; blacks and women rebelled for equal rights, indians reappeared, defiant, young people stand up against their own limitations, and working people went on strike...
I'd argue that given the US's size, governmental power, and the strength of the middle class, it would take a lot for the rebellion of the 99% to occur. There are certain "buffers" who are given small rewards by the elite as well as the government to keep the system going, including police officers, soldiers, teachers, ministers, administrators, social workers, doctors, lawyers, etc. If those middle class workers recognize that they are expendable in the eyes of the elite, perhaps they will recognize what they have in common with the poorer/more oppressed proletariat, that is, that they are all sharers of leftovers in a very wealthy country.
Do you think this revolution will ever occur? Do you think that the upper middle class workers recognize that they are being used within the system of capitalism? Or do you think our democratic ideals and the processes of a representative democracy will save us from such a revolution?
I agree that the United States is an especially unlikely candidate for Communist reform, but it is still far from impossible. Although the proletariat has been successful in gaining some rights and wealth, the distribution is anything but fair. The upper and upper-middle class still own most land and means of production, and Marx identified this small portion of the population as the bourgeoisie. Were the US's wealth to decline, the American proletariat would lose the small amount of surplus income that it has enjoyed. In this case, I believe Marx's revolution could happen.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe in the proletariat revolution as an effective end to class struggle. While the eventual collapse of the United States is inevitable, I do not believe that this necessarily means that it will be cause by a proletariat revolution or that it will result in a communist form of government. Capitalism is imperfect. Communism is imperfect. No form of government that we have contrived thus far has been perfect. Even if we were to create such a flawless form of government, it would be impossible to enforce given that fact that humans are imperfect.
ReplyDeleteI believe that eventually the inequality of our society will become more blatantly obvious than it is right now. Sure, in theory anyone can come up with a great idea and get really rich and successful but it is nearly impossible to come from the bottom of the barrel to the top of society. There is a minuscule percentage of people who were actually able to completely switch from being at the lowest to being the highest. Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and others like them were able to do it because they identified a need and proceeded to provide that service for people. It was a lot easier back then however, to get a business started since you didn't need degrees or other symbolic achievements to be accepted in society.
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